Johnson helps Hawks stun Lakers

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks continue to take care of
business against the elite class of the Western Conference at
home.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points and Josh Smith added 17 to help the
Hawks overcome a fourth-quarter deficit to shock the Los
Angeles Lakers, 98-95, at Philips Arena on Wednesday.

Former Laker Tyronn Lue netted 16 points and rookie Al Horford
had 15 and a season-high 20 rebounds for Atlanta, which has won
three straight.

"It was a dogfight from the beginning to the end," Hawks coach
Mike Woodson said. "What can you say? We beat a good team. We
were solid all the way through."

Atlanta has had success on its home floor against the Western
Conference's elite - defeating Dallas, Phoenix, Utah and Denver
entering Wednesday's play.

The Hawks slayed another one of the West's top clubs despite
hearing numerous Lakers fans.

"That's probably the best win we had all year," said Smith, who
also had nine rebounds and nine assists. "It was half Lakers
fans, half Hawks fans, or maybe 80-20. We were able to feed off
the crowd."

With the game tied at 93-93, Atlanta turned to Johnson, who
connected on both free throws with 23 seconds left to give the
Hawks a two-point lead before forcing a turnover on Los Angeles
superstar Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, who has a dislocated right pinky finger, was dribbling
the ball above the arc when Johnson took a swipe at the ball.
Bothered by the injury, the reigning two-time scoring champion
lost his grip which led to a over-and-back call.

"Oh yeah, (it affected me on the play)," said Bryant, whose
right hand was wrapped in ice after the game. "It bounced right
out of my hand."

Clearly favoring the injury, Bryant looked mortal, scoring just
11 points and connecting on just 1-of-9 shots in the second
half.

"It is what it is," Bryant said. "It's dislocated. I'm just
playing with three fingers. It's very swollen. It's a
different feeling on the ball. It changes how you shoot."

Smith connect on the back end of two foul shots with seven
seconds remaining to give Atlanta a three-point cushion.

Sasha Vujacic then drove to the hole for a layup with three
seconds to go, cutting the deficit to 96-95.

Johnson added two more free throws to rebuild a three-point
lead, giving the Lakers one last chance to force overtime, but
Derek Fisher misfired on a wild 3-pointer at the buzzer.

With Bryant, Lamar Odom and Paul Gasol all resting, Smith
sparked an 11-2 surge midway through the final period to get the
Hawks back into the game. The former Slam Dunk champion scored
the first five points of the spurt, including a monstrous dunk
to begin the onslaught.

Horford capped the run by connecting on two free throws to forge
an 88-87 lead with 3:40 remaining - Atlanta's first lead since
the opening minute of the game.

"All their horses were sitting out," Smith said. "We had to get
on a good roll before Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom got
back into the game."

Odom followed with a jumper before Lue nailed a 3-pointer to
give the Hawks a 93-91 lead with 1:25 left. Odom and Fisher
split a pair of free throws to lock things up at 93-93.

"We never really took control of the game and put the Hawks in a
position that they didn't think they could win," Fisher said.
"When you do that playing a team that plays well on their own
court, you are asking for a heartache or trouble."

Part of the reason for Atlanta's success was its defense despite
an obvious size differential down low. The Hawks held a 46-37
advantage on the glass and outscored the Lakers, 50-38, in the
paint.

"We were just resilient down there," Smith said. "We're
outmatched every night, but it's all about heart and we just
bring it every night to the table. We understand we're out-sized
down there, but we don't use that as an excuse. We take it to
them."

"We let them score too many easy buckets," said Gasol, who
scored 12 points in his second game as a Laker. "We were relying
too much on our outside shots. We should have protected more
and cut down those easy buckets."

Odom collected 19 and 11 and Fisher scored 17 for the Lakers,
who fell to 3-2 on their season-long nine-game tour of the
Eastern Conference.

basehit024 Watch out for the new Lakers. The acquisition of Gasol along with not only Kobe but also Lamar Odom makes this team as powerful in the NBA as maybe the Spurs. Hawks fans, don't fall asleep while you are watching this game because it will be over by halftime.